Massive Update

As the title speaks, a LOTTA' stuff has happened over the past few weeks and will happen in the upcoming future.

 In the latest Poetry Slam I performed For Peace there Must for the crowd, it is one of my best poems and I already have plans on two positive poems for this coming Thursday's slam.  After that, my attendance will be undefined since I'll be in college, as will many of the other people.

*Also I won the raffle again!  In addition to getting another Emerson Review Vol. 44, I also got a bunch of new stuff too, listed below...

The Light Fantastic: In a humorous fantasy book by the amazing Terry Pratchett, the world is on course for a calamitous danger and only the hero can stop it... the hero being a wonky wizard.  How reassuring.

PSYCHE: The Feminine Poetic Consciousness: A book anthology of 20 women poets including Emily Dickinson, Nikki Giovanni, Sylvia Plath and Denise Levertov.

Centripetal Vol. 16 Issue 1: Just like its predecessors, this poetry book is written and compiled by the Poets & Writers group at Plymouth University.

PUSH: This was written by the author known simply as Sapphire.  The movie version, Precious, won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Awards.  An African American 16-year old is illiterate, has abusive parents, is invisible to anyone else around her, and is a discarded priority to even the authorities.  Her only hope lies in a particular teacher she met.

The Immaculate Conception Mothers' Club: A poetry book written by David R. Surette.  At 88 pages, this book is a mammoth compared to most poetry books I've read.  As a bonus, it's hand-signed by the author himself!

Lawrence of Arabia: DVD of a famous 1962 film that has accumulated 7 Academy Awards, following the real life of British military officer T.E. Lawrence and his mission to defeat the Turkish Empire.


 College begins in just 8 days, 8!!!  That's crazy!  Summer went by fast, but at the same time it felt slow and steady with all the combinations of activities I've done this Summer.  All my preparations are ready and I just barely got in my Creative Writing class.  Here's my schedule, all which pertain to my Liberal Arts/Behavioral Science program:

Earth Science - Tuesdays, Thursdays - 2-4:30pm
Gender Studies - Fridays - 2:4:30pm
Human Growth and Development - Online
Creative Writing - Online.

As before, my upload schedule may be very unpredictable, but in my Creative Writing class, that might offset it a bit!  I have a huge head start on the poetry half of the class, but Short Stories are still unfamiliar terrain for me.

I'm also glad I got Gender Studies, which I almost lost, because it's only offered in Fall on odd-numbered years.  Restrictive admission is restrictive, but was one of the more interesting Sociology Elective choices I had, especially after some of the topics that came up in Intro to Sociology in the Spring semester.  I also have a whopping FIVE BOOKS; One for Earth Science and Human Growth, and three smaller paperback ones for Creative Writing.  New record!  Had it not been for certain discounts/strategies, it would have been about $500, though I paid less than half that amount!


 Yesterday I went to the Slam Free or Die's Writing Workshop a few cities away in which several activities were held. There was poetry critiquing, poetry critiquing each others' works, sharing of short prompts to help stir up ideas and we had a GREAT time doing it!  I shared For Peace there Must with the poets there and got some really valuable opinions both by praise and advice.  Hell I might do a 2nd version where I approach the subject in a different way, or I might not.  Either way, I can carry it into other poems I do.  SFoD is like another family, and one of the only communities where I feel fit in, am able to laugh and converse with genuinely and feel noticed and respected.  This is definitely something I'll consider going back to!  It's the 1st and 3rd Saturdays in a given month.


 Stories of Seliria isn't dead, the situation is just complicated.  Between a busy editor and a busy me, things have gone far slower than I would have liked, but I might be able to have time and continue writing it while I'm in college with the bulk of my creative literature coming from my Creative Writing class.  About the editor, the baton was passed from Sir-qwertz  to AngelWingsCreations for a multitude of reasons, and both agreed.  It was actually qwertz who brought the topic first because he didn't feel right having it on the backburner, whereas with Angel I have many more forms of contact and known her 3 times as long.  Chapters 5 and 6 were the last ones I sent to qwertz so he figured he'd edit them since they're in his possession already.  5 is up, 6 is not quite.  Future chapters will be sent to Angel, hopefully accelerating the process ideally.


 I've been noticing recently that several of my friends on this site have been suffering from personal drama or trouble, and if anybody reading this journal needs an open door to walk and talk through, just note me or allow me to try and help if I see your journal and post on it.  I'm very approachable and take serious matters seriously.  Furthermore, my field of study directly pertains to some of what I've been seeing lately.  Talk to me, I don't bite.


 I've also taken statistics of some of my happenings in Summer, just for kicks.

Out-of-state: 5 times
Poetry event participation:15 times
Parties/Birthdays: 2 times
Extended family visits: 1 times
Out-of-house entertainment: ~10 times
Won the SFoD Raffle: 6 out of 14 times
To places/entertainment I've never been before: 5
Deviations Submitted: 13 (I wish this was WAY higher)


 I think I've said everything I've wanted to for now.  Have a good day!